The present invention relates to in-floor drain constructions incorporating membranes for sealing and moisture control, and further relates to construction methods for in-floor drain constructions.
It is well known in the building and construction industry that every construction site is different. Despite the best-made architectural plans, construction sites require on-site modifications and adjustments in order to complete a well-constructed building. One area where this is problematic is in in-floor drain constructions, for both new constructions and remodeling jobs. Because drains require water to flow by gravity, construction workers will tend to error by placing underground plumbing “too low” . . . as opposed to placing the drain exactly as specified. One reason this is done is to absolutely assure that the underground plumbing will be sufficiently low for the “interface” drain components (floor drain cover, couplings, clamping rings, collars, flashings, seals, etc.) to accept water flowing from the floor into the in-floor drain. This problem is compounded by the fact that it is difficult to accurately control a thickness and relative height of a poured-cement floor, especially as it is smoothed to a good contour for water flow toward the area of an in-floor drain. As a result, the gap distance from a top of the floor around the floor drain to the underground plumbing is often “too great” (or on the maximum tolerance) for the standard floor drain components, and adjustments have to be made.
Notably, existing floor drain constructions often include threaded couplings and collars and other “hard” parts providing some level of adjustability. However, an area where the problem has not been adequately addressed is in the flexible waterproof membranes used to assure water flow into the floor drain (i.e., to assure that water does not flow by capillary action into an area outside the floor drain). Construction workers (even tile installers familiar with in-floor drain installations) will tend to deform the flexible waterproof membrane for a floor drain to an extent greater than is appropriate in an attempt to “make it work” . . . such that a durability and function of the flexible waterproof membrane is compromised. Admittedly, it is difficult to know how much deformation of the membrane is “too much.” If the waterproof membrane cracks or breaks, the resulting water leak may not be noticed until long after the construction worker is done (especially if the crack is small). Even if the waterproof membrane isn't fractured or broken immediately, “over-stretched” membranes will pucker and/or be stressed in ways that will cause future leak problems or poor water flow. Despite these problems, construction companies continue to order their full requirement of floor drain components well in advance of the actual need, so that the floor components are available on-site when the workers want them. Further, supply companies continue to stock standardized components and continue to ship based on drawing specifications alone.
More specifically in regard to floor drain systems using clamping rings and tiled flooring, building blueprints call for a particular vertical dimension and specific special relationship between the clamping ring drain and the sub-floor grade. The floor drain construction must be installed so that the floor drain and associated water-sealing membrane can be installed to drain water with good gravity flow from the floor into the drain, and without water leaks, puckering or other unacceptable deformation of the membrane, membrane cracking, and without other durability issues. In actual construction sites, it is extremely difficult to pour a concrete floor with a properly sloped top surface for good water flow while at the same time creating an opening for the floor drain construction to have a “perfect” vertical dimension and a “perfect” spacial arrangement for operably connecting the actual in-floor drain to the concrete floor. A number of factors contribute to the difficulty in actual construction sites. For example, in slab-type on-grade constructions, the vertical drain pipe is generally installed prior to the finished floor grade being installed. In most cases, the plumbing or the mechanical contractor sets the final height of the clamping ring drain. Some downward gravity flow is essential to allow for runoff and capillary action of entrapped water on the membrane. Clamping ring drains are very often set lower than specified on the construction drawing details for reasons noted above. Hence, when the trades that install floor tiles begin their work, it often becomes difficult or impossible to adapt the waterproof membrane system into the clamping ring drain assembly. The fact that one trade pours the cement floor and a different trade installs the floor drain and floor tile can also aggravate the problem, since the cement-pouring trade is potentially less “sensitive” to the tile trade's problems.
There are at least two waterproofing construction methods that are commonly used in resident and commercial construction, one being pre-manufactured membrane systems and the other being liquid membrane systems. Both of these methods necessitate solutions to this elevation problem. With the pre-manufactured membranes (i.e., formed waterproof sheet), it is very difficult to force the membrane to deform down to the level of the clamping ring without unacceptable stress on the membrane since the membrane is pre-formed to have a three-dimensional dish-like shape in its center for good drainage. This deformation problem is aggravated by the material of the membrane, which tends to be flexible out of plane (i.e. bendable like a thin flexible sheet), but stiff “in-plane” (i.e., if tensioned in one direction, the material will form undulations or low areas in adjacent areas that collect water, and/or will tear). Pre-manufactured membranes can be made as a single ply monolithic sheet, or a composite sheet, but each type has a limit to the amount of deflection and transition deformation that can be attained on the job site. Specifically, pre-manufactured membranes are formed with a relatively flat outer ring and dish-shaped center, such that any bending out of plane in one area (especially downward deflection of its center region) results in puckering or undulations of the sheet in adjacent areas of the membrane. In liquid systems, it is difficult to transfer a liquid material down into a clamping ring drain system to form a quality continuous sealing member, even if the drain is set at the correct grade height. It is further difficult to form a uniform, durable watertight sealing membrane without imperfections and/or without weak areas that cause immediate or future leak problems.
The above noted problems in waterproofing systems have existed for years without being solved. Thus, a method having the aforementioned advantages and solving the aforementioned problems is desired.